Using Claude Skills
Claude Skills for Your Vena Data and Reports
This article describes the Claude Skills available after you connect Vena's Model Context Protocol (MCP). Skills are pre-built instructions that teach Claude how to work with your Vena data and reports. They run automatically when you ask a relevant question, so you don't need to install them or call them by name.
Model onboarding is listed first because it helps Claude answer later questions more accurately. The other skills are grouped by what they help you do.
Model Onboarding Skills
Teach Claude the structure and terminology of your data model.
Teach Claude Your Model (vena-cube-onboard)
Description: Learns an unfamiliar Vena data model, including its structure and your organization's terminology and calculation logic. For example, it can capture what Gross Margin means for your business, your fiscal calendar and your default scenario. Through a short interview, it produces a dedicated skill for that data model that Claude uses on later questions.
When to use: Run this for any data model you query frequently. Later questions are faster and more accurate, and they use fewer tokens, because Claude no longer rediscovers structure or guesses at your terminology.
Example: "onboard our model," "teach Claude our numbers" or "set up a new model." Expect a short round of questions to capture terms and definitions that can't be inferred from the data alone.
Data Query Skills
Look up values, break numbers down, rank them or check how they have changed over time.
Look Up a Value (vena-query-data)
Description: Looks up a specific value from your data model and returns the answer in chat. You can ask about an account, a combination of scenario, period and entity or a simple "what was X" question.
When to use: When you need a fast, ad hoc lookup without opening Excel or a report.
Example: "What was cash in January 2025 Actual?" If you leave out details such as the scenario, Claude asks which one you mean rather than guessing.
P&L and Profitability (vena-query-pnl)
Description: Answers income statement questions using the correct roll-ups for your data model. This includes Revenue, COGS, Gross Margin, Operating Expenses, EBIT and Net Income.
When to use: For profitability questions, including totals, breakdowns by dimension or by-period views of standard P&L lines.
Example: "What was gross margin for 2026 Actual?" or "COGS by entity."
Break It Down by Dimension (vena-query-breakdown)
Description: Splits any number across a dimension you choose, such as entity, customer, product, department or geography.
When to use: When you want to know how a total is distributed, not just the total itself.
Example: "revenue by product" or "expenses by department."
Top and Bottom Rankings (vena-query-topn)
Description: Produces a ranked list instead of a full breakdown, such as top customers, biggest expense categories or worst-performing entities.
When to use: When you want a ranking rather than an exhaustive list.
Example: Include ranking language such as "top," "biggest," "worst" or "bottom," and a number if you have one in mind. For example, "top 10 customers by revenue." If you don't specify a number, Claude uses 10.
Trends Over Time (vena-query-trend)
Description: Returns monthly, quarterly, year-to-date, weekly or rolling views of a value. It uses the correct period view so results aren't double-counted.
When to use: For questions about how a value has changed over time.
Example: "monthly revenue for 2026" or "YTD OpEx as of June." If it's unclear which view you mean, Claude asks before running the query.
Handling Large Data Pulls (vena-query-decompose)
Description: Runs automatically on broad requests, such as a multi-year analysis or a high-level total like Net Income, so Claude captures and analyzes the full dataset rather than an incomplete slice.
When to use: When a request is large enough that a complete-looking answer might still be missing data. You don't have to turn this on yourself.
Example: No action needed. If you ask for something broad without specifying details such as which years, Claude may ask first rather than guess.
Catching Results That Look Wrong (vena-query-diagnose)
Description: Checks whenever a result might be off. This includes a breakdown that doesn't add up to the total, an unexpected zero or a stale-looking number. If something looks wrong, it addresses the issue before presenting the answer.
When to use: To confirm the numbers, or when something looks wrong. You can say "that total looks off" and Claude will investigate.
Example: No action needed. It runs as a self-check automatically, and you can also ask it to run when something looks wrong.
Report Building Skills
Build the structure of an Excel report from your Vena data model, then apply formatting.
Build the Report Structure (vena-template)
Description: Builds the structure of a report in Excel (rows, column headers and page filters) based on your data model's hierarchy. This is structure only. It does not include data values yet.
When to use: To set up a new report correctly before you populate it with data.
Example: "build the template" or "set up the sheet." If your report needs more than one row dimension, Claude confirms with you before generating a large sheet.
Apply Formatting and Styles (vena-format)
Description: Applies Vena's standard look and feel to a report sheet, including titles, headers, filters, subtotals and totals, so the sheet matches your data model's theme.
When to use: To format a report to Vena's standards without formatting each piece by hand. You can do this any time, not only right after you build a template.
Example: "format the report," "apply styles" or "clean up the sheet."
Note: These skills require an active Vena MCP connection to Claude.
Updated about 1 hour ago